[Bards] Thank you and a question on catagories

[Michael Silverhands]

--- John Hirling <jhirling at gmail.com> wrote:
> What do you see as the categories that should be considered bardic?  I
> think
> it can be said that traditionally the term 'bardic' has been loosely
> limited
> to song, story and poem.  Are there other categories you would deem bardic
> or bardcraft -- say . . . instrumental music, group sinding (madrigal),
> dance, juggling, ensemble acting  . . . or would you consider those
> 'performance'?  What do you see as the ramifications of your choices?
> 

To me, "bardcraft" is all about telling a story in an entertaining way. All
of the categories you mentioned *could* be used to tell a story... or they
*could* simply be a vehicle for performance art. To me, it depends entirely
on the emphasis placed by the bard/performer.

I would rather see a clarification of what we mean by "bardcraft"; not a
realignment of categories, but a clarification of what it is to be a bard,
and what qualities we would value and expect to find in someone who purports
to be one.

Unfortunately, that's hard to quantify and objectify. It's much easier to say
"you must perform a song" (or whatever) than to say "whatever you do, it must
tell a story". If you can figure out how to specify the latter, you've got
the problem licked. :-)

My two Gelders.

Michael Silverhands